Blue Dress
by Dreams Of Another Summer
Summary: Liir is determined to discover his parentage after the death of Elphaba, and he makes a surprising discovery at Kiamo Ko. (Bookverse)


**Author's Note: **This was originally a piece I wrote for English in Year 10, where the assignment was to use an existing text and include the symbol of a "Blue Dress". Original uploaded in 2006, this is a fully edited 'new edition'. Usual disclaimers apply.

Liir was fed up with it. Running to, then from, everything he knew. After Elphaba's death he had run from Kiamo Ko in search of Nor, and had ended up running from Southstairs, on and on, and he was sick of it.

_Why did she have to die?_ He asked himself as he strode through the forests of the Vinkus. _She was the closest I ever had to a mother, although she acted as though she despised me, she must have loved me._ As always with these conversations, Liir's thoughts turned to whohis parents really were. _Was_ Elphaba his mother? And who was his father?

Liir shrugged it off and spoke sternly. "That's why you're going back to Kiamo Ko," he said to himself, "so you can find some proof of your parentage… to finally discover…if she was my mother." Was. He hated thinking of Elphaba in the past tense; he couldn't seem to be able to face the fact that she was gone. The "Wicked Witch of the West" - dead. All because of some meddling girl armed with a bucket of water, all of it over a pair of shoes. _Shoes._

He kicked a small rock in frustration, and checked his bearings. He was still a day from Kiamo Ko, another half day through the Vinkus forests and on over the Great Kells. _Just swankified_, he thought. Another day alone with his thoughts and his seeming endless grief for Elphaba.

Eventually he saw the distinctive fortress Kiamo Ko, the closest thing he'd known to a home. Entering, he noticed Chistery watching him from the tower- Elphaba's retreat from the world, he noted with a wave of sadness.

"Master Liir!" Chistery launched himself out of the window, screeching towards Liir's feet. After a pat on the head he moved aside to let Liir inside.

Nanny was standing in the kitchen, which surprised Liir, as he expected her to have died months ago. He continued on past her, his mind set firmly on his mission, to the stairs that led up the tower room- Elphaba's small study. Staring at his feet, thoughts flying through his head, he startled as he almost collided with the heavy wooden door of the study. Noticing that the lock was rotting, he threw himself against the door, falling on the floor when it gave under his weight.

He stared around the small room, covered in dust and grime. He had never been in the room before, as Elphaba had been very protective of her sanctuary from the world that had treated her so cruelly. Liir hesitated, feeling as though he was a small again, unsure as to whether he should be there, whether he should be going through her belongings. Taking a deep breath he walked over to the desk and pored through the piles of papers- notes on spells, letters, and even what appeared to be poetry, all about loneliness and lost loves.

Slowly, he worked his way around the circular room until all that was left was the closet, where once again he stopped before scolding himself. _You've already gone through her papers, why should her clothes be any different? _He squared his shoulders as if facing off the wardrobe, and pulled open the doors. Once the dust cleared and his coughing subsided, all that remained were a few moth-eaten robes and pair of men's boots. Liir recalled that Elphaba had worn heavy boots but this pair were barely creased, and seemed to have been well loved and cherished. They meant enough to her that they had been kept under lock and key. Leaning down, he picked them up and examined them. They seemed like a normal pair of boots, until he flipped them upside down and an old sheet of parchment fell out. It was a picture of Nor, well drawn- with the exception of coffee stains all over it. On the back, were words in a childish hand-

"Nor By Fiyero

This is me Nor

By my father F

Before he left"

The picture was drawn by Fiyero- were the boots also his? Why did Elphaba have them? 'Before he left'- left to go where? To do what? Liir shook his head at the unanswerable questions and stuck his hand in the other boot to see if anything else was hidden away. Poking his fingers right down to the toes, his fingers brushed something soft. He drew out his hand and saw it was a doll. It was roughly made, but bore the mark of a gift made with love. Liir let out a small noise, half laugh and laugh sob- the doll had green skin and was dressed in dark blue, the uniform of Shiz University. Elphaba had attended with Lady Glinda- was this perhaps from her? Dyed green skin, blue dress, a thick woolen plait and wire glasses…it was definitely Elphaba. But made by a friend, or a lover?

Fiyero?

Liir turned the doll over and under in his hands, becoming frantic as he searched for a clue. He knew, deep inside, that this held his answer.

Just as he was about to throw the doll away in frustration he spotted it. Inside the hem of the dress, in small green stitches, were 6 words.

'Dear Fae, I Love You, Yero"

Liir slumped to the floor, tears stinging his eyes. All the clues were there, but he had no proof. No revelation, no resolution. He let the tears fall, finally mourning his loss. Sobbing, he clutched the doll to his chest.

A strange tingling feeling came over him, and his eyes blurred with tears.

_A skylight illuminates peeling paint. A white cat staring from atop a box. A couple kissing passionately in the center of the room, backlit by sunlight._

Liir tried to see their faces through the shining light. The couple turned and Liir saw blue squares, diamonds, running up the man's arms. He gasped. How many times had he heard Nor describe the beautiful diamonds tattooed onto her father's skin? How many times had he seen a wistful look in Elphaba's eyes when Nor spoke of them? Could that be Elphaba standing in Fiyero's embrace?

_The couple turns as the light shifts. The diamonds glitter as an emerald hand caresses them. They fall together, blue and green in harmony._

Shocked, Liir wiped the tears away and stared across the room. It was Elphaba, Elphaba and Fiyero, locked in an embrace.

Getting over his shock from the vision, Liir dragged himself onto the desk chair, still staring vacantly. Sitting directly in front of him was the Grimmerie, Elphaba's treasured book of spells. He had once sworn he would never open it, or attempt any of the spells-she had told him of her sister Nessarose, who had turned her childhood friend into a man of tin by trying to steal his heart. But when people are dead do your promises to them still hold? He wondered, fingers running over the cover. Elphaba would have said no, so Liir agreed. He flipped open the heavy cover, blowing dust everywhere, and began to flick through the tome. Being unable to read the text made it a rather boring task and his mind began to wander.

Reaching the middle of the book, and the end of his patience, a folded piece of parchment fell out. Thinking it could be a letter from Fiyero, Liir checked the addressee before opening it and was surprised to find printed on the front, in Elphaba's unmistakable writing, 'Liir'.

He flipped it open and began to read, astounded.

_Liir,_

_I assume that if you are reading this that meddlesome Dorothy girl succeeded in her mission to eradicate me, and you've managed to break a promise to the dead. I am sorry I could not have escaped, but we all must face our fates. Unfortunately, I left many of your questions unanswered, which I regret. After all the rumors about me flying about, I feel I should tell you a few truths…_

As he continued reading a huge grin broke out on Liir's face, and he danced around the room. After 25 years of wondering, he finally knew- he was the Son of a Witch.


End file.
